1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to wheelchairs for disabled persons, and more particularly to a wheelchair guidance system which is connectable to a conventional wheelchair to thereby enable the able-bodied person who is guiding movement of the wheelchair to do so at the side of the disabled person, rather than behind him or her, as is the conventional manner of wheelchair guidance.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Wheelchair devices to provide conveyance of disabled persons are well known in the prior art. Wheelchairs have in common a frame, a seat (along with a seat back) connected to the frame for the disabled person to sit upon, two large rear wheels connected to the frame for directly supporting the weight of the disabled person, two front wheels swivelably mounted to the frame, support structures mounted to the frame for supporting the arms and legs of the disabled person, and two spaced apart grips connected to the frame at the rear of the wheelchair for being grasped by the person who guides movement of the wheelchair. One grip is provided for each of the left and right hands of the person guiding the wheelchair to thereby enable the person guiding movement of the wheelchair to push, pull and steer by applying selective forces to the grips via his or her hands. Thusly, guidance of movement of the wheelchair is accomplished via a person standing directly behind the wheelchair.
Examples of prior art wheelchair devices which offer some variations on the above theme are as follows. U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,357 to Soderbaum, dated Nov. 24, 1987, discloses a wheelchair gripping modification in which a single grip steering device is connectable to the two conventional grips. U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,697 to Kulik, dated Aug. 1, 1989, discloses a brake mechanism connected to each of the wheelchair grips, where each hand-brake control actuates against the rim of its adjacent rear wheel. U.S. Pat. No. 4,415,202 to Pew, dated Nov. 15, 1983, discloses a wheelchair having an auxiliary seat for assisting a disabled person to be seated therein; the auxiliary seat operates via hand levers. U.S. Pat. No. 4,865,344 to Romero, Sr. et al., dated Sep. 12, 1989, discloses a wheelchair equipped with a handle movable by the disabled occupant so as to effect movement of the wheelchair via forced rotation of the rear wheels. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 3,953,054 to Udden et al, dated Apr. 27, 1976, discloses a wheelchair having a handle to assist an invalid into and out of the seat, as well as two pairs of castor wheels which alternate in operation as necessary for the invalid to effect steerage, where the wheelchair is either hand or motor operated.
While wheelchairs have been in existence for a long period of time, there exists no alternative but for the person guiding the wheelchair to walk behind the seat of the disabled person because, whatever grip mechanism is employed, it is always located behind the seat of the wheelchair. This is an unfortunate state of affairs, because it creates an unnatural and strained relationship between the disabled person in the wheelchair and his or her assistant who stands forlornly behind, neither person having the benefit of seeing facial expressions of the other as a conversation unfolds between them. Two conversing people never walk in a single file, they invariably walk side-by-side. Accordingly, what is needed is a wheelchair in which the person guiding the wheelchair can do so while walking side-by-side with the occupant of the wheelchair.